High availability of collectors of traffic reported by network sensors

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and computer-readable media for collector high availability. In some embodiments, a system receives, from a first collector device, a first data report generated by a capturing agent deployed on a host system in a network. The system can also receive, from a second collector device, a second data report generated by the capturing agent deployed on the host system. The first and second data reports can include traffic data captured at the host system by the capturing agent during a period of time. The system can determine that the first data report and the second data report are both associated with the capturing agent, and identify duplicate data contained in the first data report and the second data report. The system can then deduplicate the first and second data reports to yield a deduplicated data report.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/171,899, entitled “SYSTEM FOR MONITORING AND MANAGING DATACENTERS,” filed on Jun. 5, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present technology pertains to network analytics, and more specifically to providing high availability for collectors of traffic captured and reported by network sensors deployed in various hosts on the network.

BACKGROUND

In a network environment, capturing agents or sensors can be placed at various devices or elements in the network to collect flow data and network statistics from different locations. The collected data from the capturing agents can be analyzed to monitor and troubleshoot the network. The data collected from the capturing agents can provide valuable details about the status, security, or performance of the network, as well as any network elements. Information about the capturing agents can also help interpret the data from the capturing agents, in order to infer or ascertain additional details from the collected data. For example, understanding the placement (e.g., deployment location) of a capturing agent within a device or virtualized environment can provide a context to the data reported by the capturing agents, which can further help identify specific patterns or conditions in the network.

Collectors in the network can maintain copies and histories of the data captured and reported by the capturing agents in the network. The accuracy and value of such data is largely dependent on the completeness and availability of the data over time. Accordingly, a disruption in the collection of such data can have significant impacts on the accuracy and value of the data captured by such capturing agents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited and other advantages and features of the disclosure can be obtained, a more particular description of the principles briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only exemplary embodiments of the disclosure and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the principles herein are described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram of an example network environment;

FIG. 2A illustrates a schematic diagram of an example capturing agent deployment in a virtualized environment;

FIG. 2B illustrates a schematic diagram of an example capturing agent deployment in an example network device;

FIG. 2C illustrates a schematic diagram of an example reporting system in an example capturing agent topology;

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example configuration for collecting capturing agent reports;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example method embodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates a listing of example fields on a capturing agent report;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example network device; and

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate example system embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Various embodiments of the disclosure are discussed in detail below. While specific implementations are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components and configurations may be used without parting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

OVERVIEW

Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or can be learned by practice of the herein disclosed principles. The features and advantages of the disclosure can be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other features of the disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or can be learned by the practice of the principles set forth herein.

The approaches set forth herein can be used to provide collector high availability in a network having capturing agents (e.g., sensors) deployed in various hosts for capturing and reporting traffic to collectors. Capturing agents can be configured to capture activity at their respective hosts and report the activity to collectors. Each capturing agent can be configured to report the traffic to a primary and secondary collector. This can result in collector redundancy. The collector redundancy can ensure that a backup collector is available for receiving reported data from a capturing agent if the primary collector becomes unavailable or experiences a problem. However, the collector redundancy can also result in data duplication.

The collection and analysis of duplicate and superfluous sets of data can require additional resources, such as storage and processing resources. Therefore, to reduce the amount of resources required for the collection and analysis of the reported data, a data deduplication mechanism can be implemented for limiting or eliminating the duplicate sets of data. For example, the primary and secondary collectors can be configured to send the reported data to a centralized location, such as a centralized system, which can be configured to deduplicate the data from the primary and secondary collectors in order to filter out any duplicative data or reports. The centralized location can then store, report, and/or analyze the data in its deduplicated state.

Collectors throughout the network can be assigned to capturing agent(s) and/or flows based on a collector distribution mechanism. For example, each collector can be assigned to one or more respective capturing agents and/or data flows based on a hash value created for each capturing agent and/or the data flow(s). The hash value can be generated by applying a hash function to a capturing agent's identifier and/or a flow or traffic identifier, for example. Each collector can be assigned a respective set of hash values, which represent the capturing agent(s) and/or flow(s) assigned to the specific collector. This hashing and mapping mechanism can allow for a balanced and/or controlled distribution or mapping of collectors to capturing agents and/or flows. Each collector can collect data specific to its assigned capturing agent(s) and/or flow(s).

Disclosed are systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for providing high availability of collectors of traffic data reported by network sensors. In some embodiments, a system can receive, from a first collector device (e.g., primary collector), a first set of data reports generated by a capturing agent deployed on a host system in a network. The system can also receive, from a second collector device (e.g., secondary collector), a second set of data reports generated by the capturing agent on the host system. The first and second sets of data reports can include traffic data and/or activity captured at the host system by the capturing agent during one or more periods of time.

The system can determine that the first and second sets of data reports are both associated with the capturing agent. For example, the system can determine that both sets of data reports were generated and/or reported by the same capturing agent. In response to determining that the first and second sets of reports are both associated with the capturing agent, the system can also identify duplicate traffic data contained in the first and second sets of data reports. For example, the system can determine that two reports are copies of each or contain one or more portions of the same content. Next, the system can filter the duplicate traffic data from the first and/or second sets data reports.

Based on the filtering, the system can then generate a set of filtered data reported by the capturing agent. The set of filtered data can include traffic data captured by the capturing agent at the host during one or more periods of time. Moreover, the set of filtered data can exclude any duplicate reports and/or portions of data from the first and second sets of data reports. The system can discard any of the duplicate reports and/or portions of data from the first and second sets of data reports.

DESCRIPTION

The disclosed technology addresses the need in the art for high availability and redundancy of data collectors in data analytics system for a network. Disclosed are systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for collector high availability and redundancy. A description of an example network environment, as illustrated in FIG. 1, is first disclosed herein. A discussion of capturing agents and collection environments and configurations will then follow. The discussion continues with a discussion of high availability and redundancy of collectors in a network. The discussion then concludes with a description of example systems and devices. These variations shall be described herein as the various embodiments are set forth. The disclosure now turns to FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram of example network environment 100. Fabric 112 can represent the underlay (i.e., physical network) of network environment 100. Fabric 112 can include spine routers 1-N (102 _(A-N)) (collectively “102”) and leaf routers 1-N (104 _(A-N)) (collectively “104”). Leaf routers 104 can reside at the edge of fabric 112, and can thus represent the physical network edges. Leaf routers 104 can be, for example, top-of-rack (“ToR”) switches, aggregation switches, gateways, ingress and/or egress switches, provider edge devices, and/or any other type of routing or switching device.

Leaf routers 104 can be responsible for routing and/or bridging tenant or endpoint packets and applying network policies. Spine routers 102 can perform switching and routing within fabric 112. Thus, network connectivity in fabric 112 can flow from spine routers 102 to leaf routers 104, and vice versa.

Leaf routers 104 can provide servers 1-4 (106 _(A-D)) (collectively “106”), hypervisors 1-4 (108 _(A)-108 _(D)) (collectively “108”), virtual machines (VMs) 1-4 (110 _(A)-110 _(D)) (collectively “110”), collectors 118, engines 120, and the Layer 2 (L2) network access to fabric 112. For example, leaf routers 104 can encapsulate and decapsulate packets to and from servers 106 in order to enable communications throughout environment 100. Leaf routers 104 can also connect other network-capable device(s) or network(s), such as a firewall, a database, a server, etc., to the fabric 112. Leaf routers 104 can also provide any other servers, resources, endpoints, external networks, VMs, services, tenants, or workloads with access to fabric 112.

VMs 110 can be virtual machines hosted by hypervisors 108 running on servers 106. VMs 110 can include workloads running on a guest operating system on a respective server. Hypervisors 108 can provide a layer of software, firmware, and/or hardware that creates and runs the VMs 110. Hypervisors 108 can allow VMs 110 to share hardware resources on servers 106, and the hardware resources on servers 106 to appear as multiple, separate hardware platforms. Moreover, hypervisors 108 and servers 106 can host one or more VMs 110. For example, server 106 _(A) and hypervisor 108 _(A) can host VMs 110 _(A-B).

In some cases, VMs 110 and/or hypervisors 108 can be migrated to other servers 106. For example, VM 110 _(A) can be migrated to server 106 _(c) and hypervisor 108 _(B). Servers 106 can similarly be migrated to other locations in network environment 100. For example, a server connected to a specific leaf router can be changed to connect to a different or additional leaf router. In some cases, some or all of servers 106, hypervisors 108, and/or VMs 110 can represent tenant space. Tenant space can include workloads, services, applications, devices, and/or resources that are associated with one or more clients or subscribers. Accordingly, traffic in network environment 100 can be routed based on specific tenant policies, spaces, agreements, configurations, etc. Moreover, addressing can vary between one or more tenants. In some configurations, tenant spaces can be divided into logical segments and/or networks and separated from logical segments and/or networks associated with other tenants.

Any of leaf routers 104, servers 106, hypervisors 108, and VMs 110 can include capturing agent 116 (also referred to as a “sensor”) configured to capture network data, and report any portion of the captured data to collector 118. Capturing agents 116 can be processes, agents, modules, drivers, or components deployed on a respective system or system layer (e.g., a server, VM, virtual container, hypervisor, leaf router, etc.), configured to capture network data for the respective system (e.g., data received or transmitted by the respective system), and report some or all of the captured data and statistics to collector 118.

For example, a VM capturing agent can run as a process, kernel module, software element, or kernel driver on the guest operating system installed in a VM and configured to capture and report data (e.g., network and/or system data) processed (e.g., sent, received, generated, etc.) by the VM.

A hypervisor capturing agent can run as a process, kernel module, software element, or kernel driver on the host operating system installed at the hypervisor layer and configured to capture and report data (e.g., network and/or system data) processed (e.g., sent, received, generated, etc.) by the hypervisor.

A container capturing agent can run as a process, kernel module, software element, or kernel driver on the operating system of a device, such as a switch or server, which can be configured to capture and report data processed by the container.

A server capturing agent can run as a process, kernel module, software element, or kernel driver on the host operating system of a server and configured to capture and report data (e.g., network and/or system data) processed (e.g., sent, received, generated, etc.) by the server.

A network device capturing agent can run as a process, software element, or component in a network device, such as leaf routers 104, and configured to capture and report data (e.g., network and/or system data) processed (e.g., sent, received, generated, etc.) by the network device.

Capturing agents 116 can be configured to report observed data, statistics, and/or metadata about one or more packets, flows, communications, processes, events, and/or activities to collectors 118. For example, capturing agents 116 can capture network data and statistics processed (e.g., sent, received, generated, dropped, forwarded, etc.) by the system or host (e.g., server, hypervisor, VM, container, switch, etc.) of the capturing agents 116 (e.g., where the capturing agents 116 are deployed). The capturing agents 116 can also report the network data and statistics to one or more devices, such as collectors 118 and/or engines 120. For example, the capturing agents 116 can report an amount of traffic processed by their host, a frequency of the traffic processed by their host, a type of traffic processed (e.g., sent, received, generated, etc.) by their host, a source or destination of the traffic processed by their host, a pattern in the traffic, an amount of traffic dropped or blocked by their host, types of requests or data in the traffic received, discrepancies in traffic (e.g., spoofed addresses, invalid addresses, hidden sender, etc.), protocols used in communications, type or characteristics of responses to traffic by the hosts of the capturing agents 116, what processes have triggered specific packets, etc.

Capturing agents 116 can also capture and report information about the system or host of the capturing agents 116 (e.g., type of host, type of environment, status of host, conditions of the host, etc.). Such information can include, for example, data or metadata of active or previously active processes of the system, operating system user identifiers, kernel modules loaded or used, network software characteristics (e.g., software switch, virtual network card, etc.), metadata of files on the system, system alerts, number and/or identity of applications at the host, domain information, networking information (e.g., address, topology, settings, connectivity, etc.), session information (e.g., session identifier), faults or errors, memory or CPU usage, threads, filename and/or path, services, security information or settings, and so forth.

Capturing agents 116 may also analyze the processes running on the respective VMs, hypervisors, servers, or network devices to determine specifically which process is responsible for a particular flow of network traffic. Similarly, capturing agents 116 may determine which operating system user (e.g., root, system, John Doe, Admin, etc.) is responsible for a given flow. Reported data from capturing agents 116 can provide details or statistics particular to one or more tenants or customers. For example, reported data from a subset of capturing agents 116 deployed throughout devices or elements in a tenant space can provide information about the performance, use, quality, events, processes, security status, characteristics, statistics, patterns, conditions, configurations, topology, and/or any other information for the particular tenant space.

Collectors 118 can be one or more devices, modules, workloads, VMs, containers, and/or processes capable of receiving data from capturing agents 116. Collectors 118 can thus collect reports and data from capturing agents 116. Collectors 118 can be deployed anywhere in network environment 100 and/or even on remote networks capable of communicating with network environment 100. For example, one or more collectors can be deployed within fabric 112, on the L2 network, or on one or more of the servers 106, VMs 110, hypervisors. Collectors 118 can be hosted on a server or a cluster of servers, for example. In some cases, collectors 118 can be implemented in one or more servers in a distributed fashion.

As previously noted, collectors 118 can include one or more collectors. In some cases, collectors 118 can include primary and secondary collectors. Additional collectors can also be included. Moreover, each collector can be configured to receive reported data from one or more capturing agents 116. For example, a collector can be assigned to a subset of capturing agents 116 so the data received by that specific collector is limited to data from the subset of capturing agents 116. Collectors can also be mapped to specific traffic flows.

Further, as further described below, multiple collectors can be assigned to a specific capturing agent and/or traffic flow. For example, a capturing agent can be configured to report its captured data to multiple collectors. To illustrate, a capturing agent can be mapped to a primary and secondary collector from the collectors 118. The capturing agent can then report its captured data to both the primary and secondary collectors. This way, if an error occurs with the reporting of data to the primary collector (e.g., the primary collector becomes unavailable or experiences a disruption), the capturing agent can ensure that the data still gets collected by the secondary collector. Thus, the multiple collectors can provide redundancy for the collection of data from a particular capturing agent. The multiple collectors can also change roles (e.g., switch from primary to backup) as necessary based on the current conditions or requirements.

When the capturing agents 116 report data to multiple collectors, the collection redundancy provided by the multiple collectors can result in data duplication. Accordingly, in some cases, a data deduplication mechanism can be implemented for reducing or eliminating the amount of duplicate or redundant data. For example, the collectors 118 can include one or more centralized collectors configured to receive data and/or reports from multiple collectors. To illustrate, a centralized collector from the collectors 118 can receive, from multiple collectors, the data reported to those collectors by a capturing agent so the data reported by that capturing agent, including any duplicates, is centrally collected or processed. The centralized collector can then perform a deduplication process for eliminating or discarding duplicate reports or data from a same capturing agent.

For example, a capturing agent can be assigned a primary collector and a secondary collector from the collectors 118. The capturing agent can then report its captured data to both the primary and secondary collectors. The primary and secondary collectors can then forward the reported data to a centralized collector from the collectors 118. The centralized collector can then compare the data it receives from the primary and secondary collectors, and identify any duplicate data. Once the centralized collector identifies any duplicate data, it can discard or eliminate a copy of the duplicate data to maintain a single copy of the duplicate data. This way, the centralized collector can deduplicate the data reported by the primary and secondary collectors, which corresponds to the capturing agent assigned to the primary and secondary collectors.

The centralized collector can analyze or manipulate the deduplicated data, and/or report the deduplicated data to another device or location, such as one or more engines 120. The collectors 118 can also be configured to aggregate, summarize, block, or ignore data from one or more capturing agents 116.

The analytics engines 120 can be configured to analyze the data reported by capturing agents 116 to collectors 118. For example, engines 120 can be configured to receive collected and/or deduplicated data from one or more collectors 118 (e.g., from a centralized collector). The engines 120 can also aggregate the data, analyze the data (individually and/or aggregated), generate reports, identify conditions, compute statistics, visualize reported data, troubleshoot conditions, visualize the network and/or portions of the network (e.g., a tenant space), generate alerts, identify patterns, calculate misconfigurations, identify errors, generate suggestions, generate testing, detect compromised elements (e.g., capturing agents 116, devices, servers, switches, etc.), and/or perform any other analytics functions.

Engines 120 can include one or more modules or software programs for performing such analytics. Further, engines 120 can reside on one or more servers, devices, VMs, nodes, etc. For example, engines 120 can be separate VMs or servers, an individual VM or server, or a cluster of servers or applications. Engines 120 can reside within the fabric 112, within the L2 network, outside of the environment 100 (e.g., WAN 114), in one or more segments or networks coupled with the fabric 112 (e.g., overlay network coupled with the fabric 112), etc. Engines 120 can be coupled with the fabric 112 via the leaf switches 104, for example.

While collectors 118 and engines 120 are shown as separate entities, this is simply a non-limiting example for illustration purposes, as other configurations are also contemplated herein. For example, any of collectors 118 and engines 120 can be part of a same or separate entity. Moreover, any of the collector, aggregation, and analytics functions can be implemented by one entity (e.g., a collector 118 or engine 120) or separately implemented by multiple entities (e.g., engines 120 and/or collectors 118).

Each of the capturing agents 116 can use a respective address (e.g., internet protocol (IP) address, port number, etc.) of their host to send information to collectors 118 and/or any other destination. Collectors 118 may also be associated with their respective addresses such as IP addresses. Moreover, capturing agents 116 can periodically send information about flows they observe to collectors 118. Capturing agents 116 can be configured to report each and every flow they observe or a subset of flows they observe. For example, capturing agents 116 can report every flow always, every flow within a period of time, every flow at one or more intervals, or a subset of flows during a period of time or at one or more intervals.

Capturing agents 116 can report a list of flows that were active during a period of time (e.g., between the current time and the time of the last report). The consecutive periods of time of observance can be represented as pre-defined or adjustable time series. The series can be adjusted to a specific level of granularity. Thus, the time periods can be adjusted to control the level of details in statistics and can be customized based on specific requirements or conditions, such as security, scalability, bandwidth, storage, etc. The time series information can also be implemented to focus on more important flows or components (e.g., VMs) by varying the time intervals. The communication channel between a capturing agent and collector 118 can also create a flow in every reporting interval. Thus, the information transmitted or reported by capturing agents 116 can also include information about the flow created by the communication channel.

When referring to a capturing agent's host herein, the host can refer to the physical device or component hosting the capturing agent (e.g., server, networking device, ASIC, etc.), the virtualized environment hosting the capturing agent (e.g., hypervisor, virtual machine, etc.), the operating system hosting the capturing agent (e.g., guest operating system, host operating system, etc.), and/or system layer hosting the capturing agent (e.g., hardware layer, operating system layer, hypervisor layer, virtual machine layer, etc.).

FIG. 2A illustrates a schematic diagram of an example capturing agent deployment 200 in a server 106 _(A). Server 106 _(A) can execute and host one or more VMs 110 _(A-N) (collectively “110”). VMs 110 can be configured to run workloads (e.g., applications, services, processes, functions, etc.) based on hardware resources 210 on server 106 _(A). VMs 110 can run on guest operating systems 204 _(A-N) (collectively “204”) on a virtual operating platform provided by hypervisor 108 _(A). Each VM 110 can run a respective guest operating system 204 which can be the same or different as other guest operating systems 204 associated with other VMs 110 on server 106 _(A). Each of guest operating systems 204 can execute one or more processes, which may in turn be programs, applications, modules, drivers, services, widgets, etc. Moreover, each VM 110 can have one or more network addresses, such as an internet protocol (IP) address. VMs 110 can thus communicate with hypervisor 108 _(A), server 106 _(A), and/or any remote devices or networks using the one or more network addresses.

Hypervisor 108 _(A) (otherwise known as a virtual machine manager or monitor) can be a layer of software, firmware, and/or hardware that creates and runs VMs 110. Guest operating systems 204 running on VMs 110 can share virtualized hardware resources created by hypervisor 108 _(A). The virtualized hardware resources can provide the illusion of separate hardware components. Moreover, the virtualized hardware resources can perform as physical hardware components (e.g., memory, storage, processor, network interface, peripherals, etc.), and can be driven by hardware resources 210 on server 106 _(A). Hypervisor 108 _(A) can have one or more network addresses, such as an internet protocol (IP) address, to communicate with other devices, components, or networks. For example, hypervisor 108 _(A) can have a dedicated IP address which it can use to communicate with VMs 110, server 106 _(A), and/or any remote devices or networks.

Hypervisor 108 _(A) can be assigned a network address, such as an IP, with a global scope. For example, hypervisor 108 _(A) can have an IP that can be reached or seen by VMs 110 _(A-N) as well any other devices in the network environment 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. On the other hand, VMs 110 can have a network address, such as an IP, with a local scope. For example, VM 110 _(A) can have an IP that is within a local network segment where VM 110 _(A) resides and/or which may not be directly reached or seen from other network segments in the network environment 100.

Hardware resources 210 of server 106 _(A) can provide the underlying physical hardware that drive operations and functionalities provided by server 106 _(A), hypervisor 108 _(A), and VMs 110. Hardware resources 210 can include, for example, one or more memory resources, one or more storage resources, one or more communication interfaces, one or more processors, one or more circuit boards, one or more buses, one or more extension cards, one or more power supplies, one or more antennas, one or more peripheral components, etc. Additional examples of hardware resources are described below with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11A-B.

Server 106 _(A) can also include one or more host operating systems (not shown). The number of host operating systems can vary by configuration. For example, some configurations can include a dual boot configuration that allows server 106 _(A) to boot into one of multiple host operating systems. In other configurations, server 106 _(A) may run a single host operating system. Host operating systems can run on hardware resources 210. In some cases, hypervisor 108 _(A) can run on, or utilize, a host operating system on server 106 _(A). Each of the host operating systems can execute one or more processes, which may be programs, applications, modules, drivers, services, widgets, etc.

Server 106 _(A) can also have one or more network addresses, such as an IP address, to communicate with other devices, components, or networks. For example, server 106 _(A) can have an IP address assigned to a communications interface from hardware resources 210, which it can use to communicate with VMs 110, hypervisor 108 _(A), leaf router 104 _(A) in FIG. 1, collectors 118 in FIG. 1, and/or any remote devices or networks.

VM capturing agents 202 _(A-N) (collectively “202”) can be deployed on one or more of VMs 110. VM capturing agents 202 can be data and packet inspection agents or sensors deployed on VMs 110 to capture packets, flows, processes, events, traffic, and/or any data flowing into, out of, or through VMs 110. VM capturing agents 202 can be configured to export or report any data collected or captured by the capturing agents 202 to a remote entity, such as collectors 118, for example. VM capturing agents 202 can communicate or report such data using a network address of the respective VMs 110 (e.g., VM IP address).

VM capturing agents 202 can capture and report any traffic (e.g., packets, flows, etc.) sent, received, generated, and/or processed by VMs 110. For example, capturing agents 202 can report every packet or flow of communication sent and received by VMs 110. Such communication channel between capturing agents 202 and collectors 108 creates a flow in every monitoring period or interval and the flow generated by capturing agents 202 may be denoted as a control flow. Moreover, any communication sent or received by VMs 110, including data reported from capturing agents 202, can create a network flow. VM capturing agents 202 can report such flows in the form of a control flow to a remote device, such as collectors 118 illustrated in FIG. 1.

VM capturing agents 202 can report each flow separately or aggregated with other flows. When reporting a flow via a control flow, VM capturing agents 202 can include a capturing agent identifier that identifies capturing agents 202 as reporting the associated flow. VM capturing agents 202 can also include in the control flow a flow identifier, an IP address, a timestamp, metadata, a process ID, an OS username associated with the process ID, a host or environment descriptor (e.g., type of software bridge or virtual network card, type of host such as a hypervisor or VM, etc.), and any other information, as further described below. In addition, capturing agents 202 can append the process and user information (i.e., which process and/or user is associated with a particular flow) to the control flow. The additional information as identified above can be applied to the control flow as labels. Alternatively, the additional information can be included as part of a header, a trailer, or a payload.

VM capturing agents 202 can also report multiple flows as a set of flows. When reporting a set of flows, VM capturing agents 202 can include a flow identifier for the set of flows and/or a flow identifier for each flow in the set of flows. VM capturing agents 202 can also include one or more timestamps and other information as previously explained.

VM capturing agents 202 can run as a process, kernel module, or kernel driver on guest operating systems 204 of VMs 110. VM capturing agents 202 can thus monitor any traffic sent, received, or processed by VMs 110, any processes running on guest operating systems 204, any users and user activities on guest operating system 204, any workloads on VMs 110, etc.

Hypervisor capturing agent 206 can be deployed on hypervisor 108 _(A). Hypervisor capturing agent 206 can be a data inspection agent or sensor deployed on hypervisor 108 _(A) to capture traffic (e.g., packets, flows, etc.) and/or data flowing through hypervisor 108 _(A). Hypervisor capturing agent 206 can be configured to export or report any data collected or captured by hypervisor capturing agent 206 to a remote entity, such as collectors 118, for example. Hypervisor capturing agent 206 can communicate or report such data using a network address of hypervisor 108 _(A), such as an IP address of hypervisor 108 _(A).

Because hypervisor 108 _(A) can see traffic and data originating from VMs 110, hypervisor capturing agent 206 can also capture and report any data (e.g., traffic data) associated with VMs 110. For example, hypervisor capturing agent 206 can report every packet or flow of communication sent or received by VMs 110 and/or VM capturing agents 202. Moreover, any communication sent or received by hypervisor 108 _(A), including data reported from hypervisor capturing agent 206, can create a network flow. Hypervisor capturing agent 206 can report such flows in the form of a control flow to a remote device, such as collectors 118 illustrated in FIG. 1. Hypervisor capturing agent 206 can report each flow separately and/or in combination with other flows or data.

When reporting a flow, hypervisor capturing agent 206 can include a capturing agent identifier that identifies hypervisor capturing agent 206 as reporting the flow. Hypervisor capturing agent 206 can also include in the control flow a flow identifier, an IP address, a timestamp, metadata, a process ID, and any other information, as explained below. In addition, capturing agents 206 can append the process and user information (i.e., which process and/or user is associated with a particular flow) to the control flow. The additional information as identified above can be applied to the control flow as labels. Alternatively, the additional information can be included as part of a header, a trailer, or a payload.

Hypervisor capturing agent 206 can also report multiple flows as a set of flows. When reporting a set of flows, hypervisor capturing agent 206 can include a flow identifier for the set of flows and/or a flow identifier for each flow in the set of flows. Hypervisor capturing agent 206 can also include one or more timestamps and other information as previously explained, such as process and user information.

As previously explained, any communication captured or reported by VM capturing agents 202 can flow through hypervisor 108 _(A). Thus, hypervisor capturing agent 206 can observe and capture any flows or packets reported by VM capturing agents 202, including any control flows. Accordingly, hypervisor capturing agent 206 can also report any packets or flows reported by VM capturing agents 202 and any control flows generated by VM capturing agents 202. For example, VM capturing agent 202 _(A) on VM 1 (110 _(A)) captures flow 1 (“F1”) and reports F1 to collector 118 on FIG. 1. Hypervisor capturing agent 206 on hypervisor 108 _(A) can also see and capture F1, as F1 would traverse hypervisor 108 _(A) when being sent or received by VM 1 (110 _(A)). Accordingly, hypervisor capturing agent 206 on hypervisor 108 _(A) can also report F1 to collector 118. Thus, collector 118 can receive a report of F1 from VM capturing agent 202 _(A) on VM 1 (110 _(A)) and another report of F1 from hypervisor capturing agent 206 on hypervisor 108 _(A).

When reporting F1, hypervisor capturing agent 206 can report F1 as a message or report that is separate from the message or report of F1 transmitted by VM capturing agent 202 _(A) on VM 1 (110 _(A)). However, hypervisor capturing agent 206 can also, or otherwise, report F1 as a message or report that includes or appends the message or report of F1 transmitted by VM capturing agent 202 _(A) on VM 1 (110 _(A)). In other words, hypervisor capturing agent 206 can report F1 as a separate message or report from VM capturing agent 202 _(A)'s message or report of F1, and/or a same message or report that includes both a report of F1 by hypervisor capturing agent 206 and the report of F1 by VM capturing agent 202 _(A) at VM 1 (110 _(A)). In this way, VM capturing agents 202 at VMs 110 can report packets or flows received or sent by VMs 110, and hypervisor capturing agent 206 at hypervisor 108 _(A) can report packets or flows received or sent by hypervisor 108 _(A), including any flows or packets received or sent by VMs 110 and/or reported by VM capturing agents 202.

Hypervisor capturing agent 206 can run as a process, kernel module, or kernel driver on the host operating system associated with hypervisor 108 _(A). Hypervisor capturing agent 206 can thus monitor any traffic sent and received by hypervisor 108 _(A), any processes associated with hypervisor 108 _(A), etc.

Server 106 _(A) can also have server capturing agent 208 running on it. Server capturing agent 208 can be a data inspection agent or sensor deployed on server 106 _(A) to capture data (e.g., packets, flows, traffic data, etc.) on server 106 _(A). Server capturing agent 208 can be configured to export or report any data collected or captured by server capturing agent 206 to a remote entity, such as collector 118, for example. Server capturing agent 208 can communicate or report such data using a network address of server 106 _(A), such as an IP address of server 106 _(A).

Server capturing agent 208 can capture and report any packet or flow of communication associated with server 106 _(A). For example, capturing agent 208 can report every packet or flow of communication sent or received by one or more communication interfaces of server 106 _(A). Moreover, any communication sent or received by server 106 _(A), including data reported from capturing agents 202 and 206, can create a network flow associated with server 106 _(A). Server capturing agent 208 can report such flows in the form of a control flow to a remote device, such as collector 118 illustrated in FIG. 1. Server capturing agent 208 can report each flow separately or in combination. When reporting a flow, server capturing agent 208 can include a capturing agent identifier that identifies server capturing agent 208 as reporting the associated flow. Server capturing agent 208 can also include in the control flow a flow identifier, an IP address, a timestamp, metadata, a process ID, and any other information. In addition, capturing agent 208 can append the process and user information (i.e., which process and/or user is associated with a particular flow) to the control flow. The additional information as identified above can be applied to the control flow as labels. Alternatively, the additional information can be included as part of a header, a trailer, or a payload.

Server capturing agent 208 can also report multiple flows as a set of flows. When reporting a set of flows, server capturing agent 208 can include a flow identifier for the set of flows and/or a flow identifier for each flow in the set of flows. Server capturing agent 208 can also include one or more timestamps and other information as previously explained.

Any communications captured or reported by capturing agents 202 and 206 can flow through server 106 _(A). Thus, server capturing agent 208 can observe or capture any flows or packets reported by capturing agents 202 and 206. In other words, network data observed by capturing agents 202 and 206 inside VMs 110 and hypervisor 108 _(A) can be a subset of the data observed by server capturing agent 208 on server 106 _(A). Accordingly, server capturing agent 208 can report any packets or flows reported by capturing agents 202 and 206 and any control flows generated by capturing agents 202 and 206. For example, capturing agent 202 _(A) on VM 1 (110 _(A)) captures flow 1 (F1) and reports F1 to collector 118 as illustrated on FIG. 1. Capturing agent 206 on hypervisor 108 _(A) can also observe and capture F1, as F1 would traverse hypervisor 108 _(A) when being sent or received by VM 1 (110 _(A)). In addition, capturing agent 206 on server 106 _(A) can also see and capture F1, as F1 would traverse server 106 _(A) when being sent or received by VM 1 (110 _(A)) and hypervisor 108 _(A). Accordingly, capturing agent 208 can also report F1 to collector 118. Thus, collector 118 can receive a report (i.e., control flow) regarding F1 from capturing agent 202 _(A) on VM 1 (110 _(A)), capturing agent 206 on hypervisor 108 _(A), and capturing agent 208 on server 106 _(A).

When reporting F1, server capturing agent 208 can report F1 as a message or report that is separate from any messages or reports of F1 transmitted by capturing agent 202 _(A) on VM 1 (110 _(A)) or capturing agent 206 on hypervisor 108 _(A). However, server capturing agent 208 can also, or otherwise, report F1 as a message or report that includes or appends the messages or reports or metadata of F1 transmitted by capturing agent 202 _(A) on VM 1 (110 _(A)) and capturing agent 206 on hypervisor 108 _(A). In other words, server capturing agent 208 can report F1 as a separate message or report from the messages or reports of F1 from capturing agent 202 _(A) and capturing agent 206, and/or a same message or report that includes a report of F1 by capturing agent 202 _(A), capturing agent 206, and capturing agent 208. In this way, capturing agents 202 at VMs 110 can report packets or flows received or sent by VMs 110, capturing agent 206 at hypervisor 108 _(A) can report packets or flows received or sent by hypervisor 108 _(A), including any flows or packets received or sent by VMs 110 and reported by capturing agents 202, and capturing agent 208 at server 106 _(A) can report packets or flows received or sent by server 106 _(A), including any flows or packets received or sent by VMs 110 and reported by capturing agents 202, and any flows or packets received or sent by hypervisor 108 _(A) and reported by capturing agent 206.

Server capturing agent 208 can run as a process, kernel module, or kernel driver on the host operating system or a hardware component of server 106 _(A). Server capturing agent 208 can thus monitor any traffic sent and received by server 106 _(A), any processes associated with server 106 _(A), etc.

In addition to network data, capturing agents 202, 206, and 208 can capture additional information about the system or environment in which they reside. For example, capturing agents 202, 206, and 208 can capture data or metadata of active or previously active processes of their respective system or environment, operating system user identifiers, metadata of files on their respective system or environment, timestamps, network addressing information, flow identifiers, capturing agent identifiers, etc. Capturing agents 202, 206, and 208

Moreover, capturing agents 202, 206, 208 are not specific to any operating system environment, hypervisor environment, network environment, or hardware environment. Thus, capturing agents 202, 206, and 208 can operate in any environment.

As previously explained, capturing agents 202, 206, and 208 can send information about the network traffic they observe. This information can be sent to one or more remote devices, such as one or more servers, collectors, engines, etc. Each capturing agent can be configured to send respective information using a network address, such as an IP address, and any other communication details, such as port number, to one or more destination addresses or locations. Capturing agents 202, 206, and 208 can send metadata about one or more flows, packets, communications, processes, events, etc.

Capturing agents 202, 206, and 208 can periodically report information about each flow or packet they observe. The information reported can contain a list of flows or packets that were active during a period of time (e.g., between the current time and the time at which the last information was reported). The communication channel between the capturing agent and the destination can create a flow in every interval. For example, the communication channel between capturing agent 208 and collector 118 can create a control flow. Thus, the information reported by a capturing agent can also contain information about this control flow. For example, the information reported by capturing agent 208 to collector 118 can include a list of flows or packets that were active at hypervisor 108 _(A) during a period of time, as well as information about the communication channel between capturing agent 206 and collector 118 used to report the information by capturing agent 206.

FIG. 2B illustrates a schematic diagram of example capturing agent deployment 220 in an example network device. The network device is described as leaf router 104 _(A), as illustrated in FIG. 1. However, this is for explanation purposes. The network device can be any other network device, such as any other switch, router, etc.

In this example, leaf router 104 _(A) can include network resources 222, such as memory, storage, communication, processing, input, output, and other types of resources. Leaf router 104 _(A) can also include operating system environment 224. The operating system environment 224 can include any operating system, such as a network operating system, embedded operating system, etc. Operating system environment 224 can include processes, functions, and applications for performing networking, routing, switching, forwarding, policy implementation, messaging, monitoring, and other types of operations.

Leaf router 104 _(A) can also include capturing agent 226. Capturing agent 226 can be an agent or sensor configured to capture network data, such as flows or packets, sent received, or processed by leaf router 104 _(A). Capturing agent 226 can also be configured to capture other information, such as processes, statistics, users, alerts, status information, device information, etc. Moreover, capturing agent 226 can be configured to report captured data to a remote device or network, such as collector 118 shown in FIG. 1, for example. Capturing agent 226 can report information using one or more network addresses associated with leaf router 104 _(A) or collector 118. For example, capturing agent 226 can be configured to report information using an IP assigned to an active communications interface on leaf router 104 _(A).

Leaf router 104 _(A) can be configured to route traffic to and from other devices or networks, such as server 106 _(A). Accordingly, capturing agent 226 can also report data reported by other capturing agents on other devices. For example, leaf router 104 _(A) can be configured to route traffic sent and received by server 106 _(A) to other devices. Thus, data reported from capturing agents deployed on server 106 _(A), such as VM and hypervisor capturing agents on server 106 _(A), would also be observed by capturing agent 226 and can thus be reported by capturing agent 226 as data observed at leaf router 104 _(A). Such report can be a control flow generated by capturing agent 226. Data reported by the VM and hypervisor capturing agents on server 106 _(A) can therefore be a subset of the data reported by capturing agent 226.

Capturing agent 226 can run as a process or component (e.g., firmware, module, hardware device, etc.) in leaf router 104 _(A). Moreover, capturing agent 226 can be installed on leaf router 104 _(A) as a software or firmware agent. In some configurations, leaf router 104 _(A) itself can act as capturing agent 226. Moreover, capturing agent 226 can run within operating system 224 and/or separate from operating system 224.

FIG. 2C illustrates a schematic diagram of example reporting system 240 in an example capturing agent topology. The capturing agent topology includes capturing agents along a path from a virtualized environment (e.g., VM and hypervisor) to the fabric 112.

Leaf router 104 _(A) can route packets or traffic 242 between fabric 112 and server 106 _(A), hypervisor 108 _(A), and VM 110 _(A). Packets or traffic 242 between VM 110 _(A) and leaf router 104 _(A) can flow through hypervisor 108 _(A) and server 106 _(A). Packets or traffic 242 between hypervisor 108 _(A) and leaf router 104 _(A) can flow through server 106 _(A). Finally, packets or traffic 242 between server 106 _(A) and leaf router 104 _(A) can flow directly to leaf router 104 _(A). However, in some cases, packets or traffic 242 between server 106 _(A) and leaf router 104 _(A) can flow through one or more intervening devices or networks, such as a switch or a firewall.

Moreover, VM capturing agent 202 _(A) at VM 110 _(A), hypervisor capturing agent 206 _(A) at hypervisor 108 _(A), network device capturing agent 226 at leaf router 104 _(A), and any server capturing agent at server 106 _(A) (e.g., capturing agent running on host environment of server 106 _(A)) can send reports 244 (also referred to as control flows) to collector 118 based on the packets or traffic 242 captured at each respective capturing agent. Reports 244 from VM capturing agent 202 _(A) to collectors 118 can flow through VM 110 _(A), hypervisor 108 _(A), server 106 _(A), and leaf router 104 _(A). Reports 244 from hypervisor capturing agent 206 _(A) to collectors 118 can flow through hypervisor 108 _(A), server 106 _(A), and leaf router 104 _(A). Reports 244 from any other server capturing agent at server 106 _(A) to collectors 118 can flow through server 106 _(A) and leaf router 104 _(A). Finally, reports 244 from network device capturing agent 226 to collectors 118 can flow through leaf router 104 _(A). Although reports 244 are depicted as being routed separately from traffic 242 in FIG. 2C, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that reports 244 and traffic 242 can be transmitted through the same communication channel(s).

Reports 244 can include any portion of packets or traffic 242 captured at the respective capturing agents. Reports 244 can also include other information, such as timestamps, process information, capturing agent identifiers, flow identifiers, flow statistics, notifications, logs, user information, system information, etc. Some or all of this information can be appended to reports 244 as one or more labels, metadata, or as part of the packet(s)′ header, trailer, or payload. For example, if a user opens a browser on VM 110 _(A) and navigates to examplewebsite.com, VM capturing agent 202 _(A) of VM 110 _(A) can determine which user (i.e., operating system user) of VM 110 _(A) (e.g., username “johndoe85”) and which process being executed on the operating system of VM 110 _(A) (e.g., “chrome.exe”) were responsible for the particular network flow to and from examplewebsite.com. Once such information is determined, the information can be included in report 244 as labels for example, and report 244 can be transmitted from VM capturing agent 202 _(A) to collectors 118. Such additional information can help system 240 to gain insight into flow information at the process and user level, for instance. This information can be used for security, optimization, and determining structures and dependencies within system 240.

In some examples, the reports 244 can include various statistics and/or usage information reported by the respective capturing agents. For example, the reports 244 can indicate an amount of traffic captured by the respective capturing agent, which can include the amount of traffic sent, received, and generated by the capturing agent's host; a type of traffic captured, such as video, audio, Web (e.g., HTTP or HTTPS), database queries, application traffic, etc.; a source and/or destination of the traffic, such as a destination server or application, a source network or device, a source or destination address or name (e.g., IP address, DNS name, FQDN, packet label, MAC address, VLAN, VNID, VxLAN, source or destination domain, etc.); a source and/or destination port (e.g., port 25, port 80, port 443, port 8080, port 22); a traffic protocol; traffic metadata; etc. The reports 244 can also include indications of traffic or usage patterns and information, such as frequency of communications, intervals, type of requests, type of responses, triggering processes or events (e.g., causality), resource usage, etc.

Each of the capturing agents 202 _(A), 206 _(A), 226 can include a respective unique capturing agent identifier on each of reports 244 it sends to collectors 118, to allow collectors 118 to determine which capturing agent sent the report. Capturing agent identifiers in reports 244 can also be used to determine which capturing agents reported what flows. Reports 244 can also include a flow identifier for each flow reported and a timestamp identifying a time period when the traffic was captured and/or reported. This information can then be used to determine analytics information, such as a capturing agent placement and topology, traffic statistics, usage information, activity details, a mapping of flows to processes and users, current conditions, etc. Such additional insights gained can be useful for analyzing the data in reports 244, as well as troubleshooting, security, visualization, configuration, planning, and management, and so forth.

As previously noted, the topology of the capturing agents can be ascertained from the reports 244. To illustrate, a packet received by VM 110 _(A) from fabric 112 can be captured and reported by VM capturing agent 202 _(A). Since the packet received by VM 110 _(A) will also flow through leaf router 104 _(A) and hypervisor 108 _(A), it can also be captured and reported by hypervisor capturing agent 206 _(A) and network device capturing agent 226. Thus, for a packet received by VM 110 _(A) from fabric 112, collectors 118 can receive a report of the packet from VM capturing agent 202 _(A), hypervisor capturing agent 206 _(A), and network device capturing agent 226.

Similarly, a packet sent by VM 110 _(A) to fabric 112 can be captured and reported by VM capturing agent 202 _(A). Since the packet sent by VM 110 _(A) will also flow through leaf router 104 _(A) and hypervisor 108 _(A), it can also be captured and reported by hypervisor capturing agent 206 _(A) and network device capturing agent 226. Thus, for a packet sent by VM 110 _(A) to fabric 112, collectors 118 can receive a report of the packet from VM capturing agent 202 _(A), hypervisor capturing agent 206 _(A), and network device capturing agent 226.

On the other hand, a packet originating at, or destined to, hypervisor 108 _(A), can be captured and reported by hypervisor capturing agent 206 _(A) and network device capturing agent 226, but not VM capturing agent 202 _(A), as such packet may not flow through VM 110 _(A). Moreover, a packet originating at, or destined to, leaf router 104 _(A), will be captured and reported by network device capturing agent 226, but not VM capturing agent 202 _(A), hypervisor capturing agent 206 _(A), or any other capturing agent on server 106 _(A), as such packet may not flow through VM 110 _(A), hypervisor 108 _(A), or server 106 _(A).

Reports 244 can be transmitted to collectors 118 periodically as new packets or traffic 242 are captured by a capturing agent, or otherwise based on a schedule, interval, or event, for example. Further, each capturing agent can send a single report or multiple reports to collectors 118. For example, each of the capturing agents can be configured to send a report to one or more collectors 118 for every flow, packet, message, communication, or network data received, transmitted, and/or generated by its respective host (e.g., VM 110 _(A), hypervisor 108 _(A), server 106 _(A), and leaf router 104 _(A)). As such, collectors 118 can receive a report of a same packet from multiple capturing agents. In other examples, one or more capturing agents can be configured to send a report to collectors 118 for one or more flows, packets, messages, communications, network data, or subset(s) thereof, received, transmitted, and/or generated by the respective host during a period of time or interval.

Collectors 118 can include a primary collector 246 and a secondary collector 248. Each capturing agent can send the reports 244 to both the primary collector and the secondary collector. This can provide redundancy to ensure that any disruption to a collector does not result in a disruption in the collection or reporting of the reports 244. In some examples, the primary collector 246 and secondary collector 248 can then send the reports 244 received from each capturing agent to a centralized collector 250, which can deduplicate the reports 244 from the primary and secondary collectors 246, 248 to yield a single copy of each of the reports 244.

In some examples, primary collector 246 and secondary collector 248 can perform as active/inactive collectors. For example, primary collector 246 can run as the active or main collector for receiving reports 244, and secondary collector 248 can run as standby or backup collector. Primary collector 246 and secondary collector 248 can exchange periodic signals or heartbeats to detect service continuity and functionality. For example, secondary collector 248 can send periodic heartbeats to primary collector 246, or receive periodic heartbeats from primary collector 246. If the secondary collector 248 does not receive a response to one or more heartbeats (e.g., a threshold number of heartbeats) sent to primary collector 246 within a period of time, or does not receive a heartbeat from primary collector 246 within a threshold period of time, then the secondary collector 248 can take over as the primary collector. Here, the secondary collector 248 can determine that the primary collector 246 has experienced a problem or error and, as a result, the secondary collector 248 can become the active or main collector to prevent any disruption in the collection of reports 244.

In some examples, the primary and secondary role or status of the collectors 246, 248 can be determined by a zookeeper or management entity. For example, the collectors 246, 248 can send heartbeats to the zookeeper or management entity (not shown) periodically. If the zookeeper does not receive a threshold number of heartbeats during a threshold period of time from a collector running or set as a primary collector (e.g., 246), then the zookeeper can instruct the other collector (e.g., 248) to take the role or status of primary collector (e.g., active, main collector). The zookeeper or management entity can continue to listen to heartbeats from the collectors 246, 248 and switch roles of the collectors 246, 248 as necessary to remedy for a collector acting as a primary becoming unresponsive or encountering a problem.

Some approaches can also use a mix between the reporting of flows to both collectors 246, 248 for redundancy and the use of a zookeeper or the exchange of heartbeats between collectors 246, 248. For example, in some cases, the primary and secondary collectors 246, 248 can exchange heartbeats to verify that the primary collector 246 is functioning properly. If the primary collector 246 is determined to be unresponsive or have encountered a problem (e.g., because a zookeeper or another collector is unable to receive or exchange signals or heartbeats with the primary collector), then another collector (e.g., collector 248) can be set to take the role of primary collector at least until the primary collector becomes responsive or continues to function. However, as another backup measure, another collector can then be appointed as a secondary collector, and the new primary collector and the new secondary collector can then send duplicate reports to the centralized collector 250 as backup. This way, if another problem is experienced with the new primary collector, a second copy of the reports sent to the centralized collector 250 can ensure that at least one copy of reports is collected.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example configuration 300 for collecting capturing agent reports (i.e., control flows). In configuration 300, traffic between fabric 112 and VM 110 _(A) is configured to flow through leaf router 104 _(A), server 106 _(A), and hypervisor 108 _(A). Moreover, traffic between fabric 112 and hypervisor 108 _(A) is configured to flow through leaf router 104 _(A).

VM capturing agent 202 _(A) can be configured to report to collector 118 traffic sent, received, or processed by VM 110 _(A). Hypervisor capturing agent 210 can be configured to report, to primary collector 246 and secondary collector 248 from collectors 118, traffic sent, received, or processed by hypervisor 108 _(A). Finally, network device capturing agent 226 can be configured to report, to primary collector 246 and secondary collector 248 from collectors 118, traffic sent, received, or processed by leaf router 104 _(A).

Primary collector 246 and secondary collector 248 can thus each receive flows 402 from VM capturing agent 202 _(A), flows 304 from hypervisor capturing agent 206 _(A), and flows 406 from network device capturing agent 226. Flows 302 can include flows captured by VM capturing agent 202 _(A) at VM 110 _(A). Flows 304 can include flows captured by hypervisor capturing agent 206 _(A) at hypervisor 108 _(A). Flows captured by hypervisor capturing agent 206 _(A) can also include flows 302 captured by VM capturing agent 202 _(A), as traffic sent and received by VM 110 _(A) will be received and observed by hypervisor 108 _(A) and captured by hypervisor capturing agent 206 _(A). Flows 306 can include flows captured by network device capturing agent 226 at leaf router 104 _(A). Flows captured by network device capturing agent 226 can also include flows 302 captured by VM capturing agent 202 _(A) and flows 304 captured by hypervisor capturing agent 206 _(A), as traffic sent and received by VM 110 _(A) and hypervisor 108 _(A) is routed through leaf router 104 _(A) and can thus be captured by network device capturing agent 226.

Primary collector 246 and secondary collector 248 can each collect flows 302, 304, and 306, and report the flows to centralized collector 250. Centralized collector 250 can then deduplicate the flows 302, 304, 306 (e.g., discard one copy and report another copy from the two copies received of flows 302, 304, 306), and forward some or all of the deduplicated flows 302, 304, and 306, and/or any respective portion thereof, to engine 120.

Engine 120 can process the information, including any information about the capturing agents (e.g., agent placement, agent environment, etc.) and/or the captured traffic (e.g., statistics), received from centralized collector 250 to identify patterns, conditions, network or device characteristics; log statistics or history details; aggregate and/or process the data; generate reports, timelines, alerts, graphical user interfaces; detect errors, events, inconsistencies; troubleshoot networks or devices; configure networks or devices; deploy services or devices; reconfigure services, applications, devices, or networks; etc.

Centralized collector 250 and/or engine 120 can map individual flows that traverse VM 110 _(A), hypervisor 108 _(A), and/or leaf router 104 _(A) to the specific capturing agents at VM 110 _(A), hypervisor 108 _(A), and/or leaf router 104 _(A). For example, centralized collector 312 and/or engine 120 can determine that a particular flow that originated from VM 110 _(A) and destined for fabric 112 was sent by VM 110 _(A) and such flow was reported by VM capturing agent 202. Other information, such as process, user, timing, and/or other details may also be determined for the various flows. For example, it may be determined that the same flow was received by a process named Z on hypervisor 108 _(A) and forwarded to a process named W on leaf router 104 _(A) and also reported by hypervisor capturing agent 206.

While engine 120 is illustrated as a separate entity, other configurations are also contemplated herein. For example, engine 120 can be part of centralized collector 250 and/or a separate entity. Indeed, engine 120 can include one or more devices, applications, modules, databases, processing components, elements, etc. Moreover, centralized collector 312, primary collector 246, and secondary collector 248 can each represent one or more collectors. For example, in some configurations, primary and secondary collectors 246, 248 can include multiple collection systems or entities, which can reside in one or more networks.

Having disclosed some basic system components and concepts, the disclosure now turns to the exemplary method embodiment shown in FIG. 4. For the sake of clarity, the method is described in terms of collectors 118, including primary, secondary, and centralized collectors 246-250, and capturing agents 202 _(A), 206 _(A), 226, as shown in FIG. 3, configured to practice the various steps in the method. However, the example methods can be practiced by any software or hardware components, devices, etc. heretofore disclosed. The steps outlined herein are exemplary and can be implemented in any combination thereof in any order, including combinations that exclude, add, or modify certain steps.

At step 400, the centralized collector 250 can receive, from the primary collector 246, a first set of data reports (e.g., reports 244) generated by a capturing agent (e.g., capturing agent 226, 206 _(A), or 202 _(A)) deployed on a host system (e.g., leaf switch 104 _(A), hypervisor 108 _(A), VM 110 _(A), server 106 _(A)) and including traffic and/or usage data captured by the capturing agent during one or more periods of time. At step 402, the centralized collector 250 can receive, from secondary collector 248, a second set of data reports generated by the capturing agent (e.g., capturing agent 226, 206 _(A), or 202 _(A)) and including traffic and/or usage data captured by the capturing agent during one or more periods of time.

The data reports can include various types of statistics and/or data. Non-limiting examples of statistics can include, among other things, a number of packets sent and/or received by the host, a number and/or type of requests sent or received by the host, the type of traffic captured by the capturing agent, a protocol used by captured communications, characteristics of captured packets (e.g., destination IP, source IP, MAC address of sender or destination, communication protocol, port number, timestamp, capturing agent ID, flow ID, packet size, packet header fields, flags, ID of source/destination application or process, username of process associated with the traffic, packet label(s), process ID, etc.), security information, error description or number, activity statistics, destination collector ID, host ID, network or domain information (e.g., domain name, DNS information, VLAN ID, subnet, prefix, VNID, etc.), characteristics of the capturing agent and/or host (e.g., host or guest operating system, running processes at the host, kernel modules loaded by the host's kernel, type of switching device (e.g., virtual or software switch, VNIC, etc.) used by host and capturing agent, placement or topology of capturing agent and/or host relative to other capturing agent's in the network, etc.

The traffic and/or usage information in the reports of the capturing agent can be captured during a period or interval of time (e.g., an hour, week, etc.). In some examples, the data reports can be generated and/or reported in real time or near real time as the data in the reports is captured. Moreover, in some examples, the data reports can include historical data. For example, the traffic and/or usage data in the data reports can correspond to a previous time in history (e.g., a week or month ago).

The data reports received from the primary and secondary collectors 246, 248 can include or identify traffic and/or usage data captured by the capturing agent during the same period or interval of time, or during one or more overlapping periods of time. Moreover, the first and second sets of data reports can be captured by the capturing agent at the capturing agent's host and reported by the capturing agent to both the primary and secondary collectors 246, 248. Thus, some or all of the data in the data reports sent by the capturing agent to primary collector 246 can be the same as the data in the reports sent by the capturing agent to secondary collector 248. Indeed, in some examples, the capturing agent can send to the secondary collector 248 a copy of every report sent to the primary collector 246. This way, the capturing agent can ensure that any reports that do not reach the primary collector 246 (e.g., are dropped, lost, blocked, and/or unable to reach the primary collector 246) may otherwise reach the secondary collector 248. Accordingly, the data reported by the capturing agent is collected at both collectors 246, 248 for redundancy and fail-safe.

In some cases, the capturing agent can report one or more of the data reports to other collectors. For example, the capturing agent can report a data report to three different collectors for additional redundancy and/or reliance. The collectors can be configured on different devices and/or different locations such as networks, network segments, addresses, etc. For example, one collector can be a system (e.g., server, VM, cluster, database, etc.) residing in one network or network segment, and another collector can be another system residing in another network or network segment. Placing the different collectors in different systems and networks or network segments can increase the likelihood that at least one collector is able to receive the data reports when there is a hardware failure, network disruption, etc.

After receiving the data reports, the primary and secondary collectors 246, 248 can report or transmit the data reports to the centralized collector 250 for storage, analysis, deduplication, manipulation, modification, review, etc. The primary and secondary collectors 246, 248 can forward the data reports to the centralized collector 250 as they receive the data reports, or otherwise send the data reports at specific intervals, times, schedules, etc. The primary and secondary collectors 246, 248 can also aggregate, summarize, or reduce data reports prior to sending them to the centralized collector 250. For example, the primary and secondary collectors 246, 248 can aggregate data reports received during a period of time (e.g., a week) and then send the aggregated report to the centralized collector 250.

At step 404, the centralized collector 250 can determine that the first set of data reports and the second set of data reports are both associated with the same capturing agent. For example, the centralized collector 250 can compare the first set of data reports and the second set of data reports to determine that the data reports are from the same capturing agent and encompass the same period of time. In some examples, the data reports can include a flow ID, a capturing agent ID, a data report ID, a control flow ID, a hash value, and/or a timestamp. The centralized collector 250 can thus compare the flow IDs, capturing agent IDs, report IDs, control flow IDs, hash values, and/or timestamps in the data reports to determine that the data reports originate from the same capturing agent.

In response to determining that the first and second sets of reports are both associated with the capturing agent, at step 406, the centralized collector 250 can identify duplicate data contained in the first set of data reports and the second set of data reports. For example, the centralized collector 250 can identify one or more packets, flows, statistics, and/or information contained in the first set of data reports that is also contained in the second set of data reports. Thus, the centralized collector 250 can detect any duplicate information in both sets of data reports. Moreover, in some examples, the centralized collector 250 can detect if any of the reports are duplicate reports. For example, the centralized collector 250 can determine that report A is a copy of report B (e.g., duplicate reports).

The centralized collector 250 can detect duplicate information and/or reports based on the data included in, or reported by, the data reports, such as a flow ID, a capturing agent ID, a data report ID, a control flow ID, a hash value, and/or a timestamp. For example, the centralized collector 250 can determine that two data reports are the same (e.g., duplicates or copies of each other) based on a data report ID in the data reports. As another example, the centralized collector 250 can identify duplicate portions of data in the two data reports based on flow IDs and timestamps contained in both reports.

The centralized collector 250 can also identify duplicate reports based on the contents of the data reports. For example, the centralized collector 250 can hash the data reports using a particular hash function and identify duplicate reports based on matching hash values. As another example, the centralized collector 250 can analyze the contents (e.g., report size, flow IDs, etc.) of data reports to identify duplicate reports.

At step 408, the centralized collector 250 can deduplicate the first set of data reports and the second set of data reports to yield a deduplicated data report. In deduplicating the data reports, the centralized collector 250 can select a data report and discard or filter any duplicate copies of the selected data report so as to only maintain a single copy of each report. For example, if the centralized collector 250 receives two copies of report A, the centralized collector 250 can discard one copy of report A and keep the other copy of report A.

The centralized collector 250 can also merge the data reports and filter out any duplicate reports and/or data (e.g., content). For example, if the centralized collector 250 receives report A and report B, and report B contains at least some of the same data contained in report A, the centralized collector 250 can merge report A with report B and remove any of the duplicate data to yield a report C that only has a single copy of each item of data from both report A and report B.

The centralized collector 250 can also keep multiple portions of multiple reports and, if necessary, filter any duplicate data within the multiple reports. For example, if centralized collector 250 receives report A and report B, and each of the reports includes duplicate content (e.g., content contained in both reports) as well as unique or different content, the centralized collector 250 can filter out the duplicate content from one of the reports to yield a single copy of the duplicate content, and keep the single copy of the duplicate content as well as any unique or different content from both reports.

For example, if two data reports include duplicate data and at least one of the reports includes data not contained in the other report, the centralized collector 250 can merge the data reports without any duplicate data or portions of data. To illustrate, if data report A includes flow X, flow Y, and flow Z, and data report B includes flow X and flow N, the centralized collector 312 can generate a data report having a single instance of flow N, flow X, flow Y, and flow Z. Thus, the centralized collector 250 can discard the duplicate copy of flow X.

The deduplicated data report can include data captured by the capturing agent at the capturing agent's host during one or more intervals of time, and reported in the first and/or second sets of data reports. Thus, steps 400-408 can allow centralized collector 250 to receive duplicate data and/or data reports for redundancy, and also filter out any duplicate data and/or reports to maintain a single copy of the data and/or reports.

The centralized collector 250 can report and/or analyze the deduplicated data report. For example, the centralized controller 250 can report the deduplicated data report to engine 120. Engine 120 can then analyze and/or store the data in the deduplicated data report received from the centralized collector 250. The centralized collector 250 can also store and/or analyze the deduplicated data report, like engine 120, to perform data analytics, network troubleshooting, security analysis, network monitoring, etc.

The collectors from collectors 118 can be assigned to particular flows and/or capturing agents for receiving the particular flows or any other data from the assigned capturing agents. For example, a collector can be assigned as a primary collector for flow A and/or capturing agent X, and another collector can be assigned as a secondary collector for flow B and/or capturing agent Y.

The distribution of collectors to flows and/or capturing agents can be determined using a table with rows containing hash values calculated by applying a hash function to a flow or capturing agent key or ID. For example, each flow or capturing agent can be assigned a row in the table, and collectors can then be assigned to each cell and/or row in the table.

FIG. 5 illustrates a listing 500 of example fields on a capturing agent report. The listing 500 can include one or more fields, such as:

Flow identifier (e.g., unique identifier associated with the flow).

Capturing agent identifier (e.g., data uniquely identifying reporting capturing agent).

Timestamp (e.g., time of event, report, etc.).

Interval (e.g., time between current report and previous report, interval between flows or packets, interval between events, etc.).

Duration (e.g., duration of event, duration of communication, duration of flow, duration of report, etc.).

Flow direction (e.g., egress flow, ingress flow, etc.).

Application identifier (e.g., identifier of application associated with flow, process, event, or data).

Port (e.g., source port, destination port, layer 4 port, etc.).

Destination address (e.g., interface address associated with destination, IP address, domain name, network address, hardware address, virtual address, physical address, etc.).

Source address (e.g., interface address associated with source, IP address, domain name, network address, hardware address, virtual address, physical address, etc.).

Interface (e.g., interface address, interface information, etc.).

Protocol (e.g., layer 4 protocol, layer 3 protocol, etc.).

Event (e.g., description of event, event identifier, etc.).

Flag (e.g., layer 3 flag, flag options, etc.).

Tag (e.g., virtual local area network tag, etc.).

Process (e.g., process identifier, etc.).

User (e.g., OS username, etc.).

Bytes (e.g., flow size, packet size, transmission size, etc.).

Sensor Type (e.g., the type of virtualized environment hosting the capturing agent, such as hypervisor or VM; the type of virtual network device, such as VNIC, LINUX bridge, OVS, software switch, etc.).

The listing 500 includes a non-limiting example of fields in a report. Other fields and data items are also contemplated herein, such as handshake information, system information, network address associated with capturing agent or host, operating system environment information, network data or statistics, process statistics, system statistics, etc. The order in which these fields are illustrated is also exemplary and can be rearranged in any other way. One or more of these fields can be part of a header, a trailer, or a payload of in one or more packets. Moreover, one or more of these fields can be applied to the one or more packets as labels. Each of the fields can include data, metadata, and/or any other information relevant to the fields.

The disclosure now turns to the example network device and system illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7A-B.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example network device 610 according to some embodiments. Network device 610 includes a master central processing unit (CPU) 662, interfaces 668, and a bus 615 (e.g., a PCI bus). When acting under the control of appropriate software or firmware, the CPU 662 is responsible for executing packet management, error detection, and/or routing functions. The CPU 662 preferably accomplishes all these functions under the control of software including an operating system and any appropriate applications software. CPU 662 may include one or more processors 663 such as a processor from the Motorola family of microprocessors or the MIPS family of microprocessors. In an alternative embodiment, processor 663 is specially designed hardware for controlling the operations of router 610. In a specific embodiment, a memory 661 (such as non-volatile RAM and/or ROM) also forms part of CPU 662. However, there are many different ways in which memory could be coupled to the system.

The interfaces 668 are typically provided as interface cards (sometimes referred to as “line cards”). Generally, they control the sending and receiving of data packets over the network and sometimes support other peripherals used with the router 610. Among the interfaces that may be provided are Ethernet interfaces, frame relay interfaces, cable interfaces, DSL interfaces, token ring interfaces, and the like. In addition, various very high-speed interfaces may be provided such as fast token ring interfaces, wireless interfaces, Ethernet interfaces, Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, ATM interfaces, HSSI interfaces, POS interfaces, FDDI interfaces and the like. Generally, these interfaces may include ports appropriate for communication with the appropriate media. In some cases, they may also include an independent processor and, in some instances, volatile RAM. The independent processors may control such communications intensive tasks as packet switching, media control and management. By providing separate processors for the communications intensive tasks, these interfaces allow the master microprocessor 662 to efficiently perform routing computations, network diagnostics, security functions, etc.

Although the system shown in FIG. 6 is one specific network device of the present invention, it is by no means the only network device architecture on which the present invention can be implemented. For example, an architecture having a single processor that handles communications as well as routing computations, etc. is often used. Further, other types of interfaces and media could also be used with the router.

Regardless of the network device's configuration, it may employ one or more memories or memory modules (including memory 661) configured to store program instructions for the general-purpose network operations and mechanisms for roaming, route optimization and routing functions described herein. The program instructions may control the operation of an operating system and/or one or more applications, for example. The memory or memories may also be configured to store tables such as mobility binding, registration, and association tables, etc.

FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B illustrate example system embodiments. The more appropriate embodiment will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art when practicing the present technology. Persons of ordinary skill in the art will also readily appreciate that other system embodiments are possible.

FIG. 7A illustrates a conventional system bus computing system architecture 700 wherein the components of the system are in electrical communication with each other using a bus 705. Exemplary system 700 includes a processing unit (CPU or processor) 710 and a system bus 705 that couples various system components including the system memory 715, such as read only memory (ROM) 720 and random access memory (RAM) 725, to the processor 710. The system 700 can include a cache of high-speed memory connected directly with, in close proximity to, or integrated as part of the processor 710. The system 700 can copy data from the memory 715 and/or the storage device 730 to the cache 712 for quick access by the processor 710. In this way, the cache can provide a performance boost that avoids processor 710 delays while waiting for data. These and other modules can control or be configured to control the processor 710 to perform various actions. Other system memory 715 may be available for use as well. The memory 715 can include multiple different types of memory with different performance characteristics. The processor 710 can include any general purpose processor and a hardware module or software module, such as module 1 732, module 2 734, and module 3 736 stored in storage device 730, configured to control the processor 710 as well as a special-purpose processor where software instructions are incorporated into the actual processor design. The processor 710 may essentially be a completely self-contained computing system, containing multiple cores or processors, a bus, memory controller, cache, etc. A multi-core processor may be symmetric or asymmetric.

To enable user interaction with the computing device 700, an input device 745 can represent any number of input mechanisms, such as a microphone for speech, a touch-sensitive screen for gesture or graphical input, keyboard, mouse, motion input, speech and so forth. An output device 735 can also be one or more of a number of output mechanisms known to those of skill in the art. In some instances, multimodal systems can enable a user to provide multiple types of input to communicate with the computing device 700. The communications interface 740 can generally govern and manage the user input and system output. There is no restriction on operating on any particular hardware arrangement and therefore the basic features here may easily be substituted for improved hardware or firmware arrangements as they are developed.

Storage device 730 is a non-volatile memory and can be a hard disk or other types of computer readable media which can store data that are accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, solid state memory devices, digital versatile disks, cartridges, random access memories (RAMs) 725, read only memory (ROM) 720, and hybrids thereof.

The storage device 730 can include software modules 732, 734, 736 for controlling the processor 710. Other hardware or software modules are contemplated. The storage device 730 can be connected to the system bus 705. In one aspect, a hardware module that performs a particular function can include the software component stored in a computer-readable medium in connection with the necessary hardware components, such as the processor 710, bus 705, display 735, and so forth, to carry out the function.

FIG. 7B illustrates an example computer system 750 having a chipset architecture that can be used in executing the described method and generating and displaying a graphical user interface (GUI). Computer system 750 is an example of computer hardware, software, and firmware that can be used to implement the disclosed technology. System 750 can include a processor 755, representative of any number of physically and/or logically distinct resources capable of executing software, firmware, and hardware configured to perform identified computations. Processor 755 can communicate with a chipset 760 that can control input to and output from processor 755. In this example, chipset 760 outputs information to output device 765, such as a display, and can read and write information to storage device 770, which can include magnetic media, and solid state media, for example. Chipset 760 can also read data from and write data to RAM 775. A bridge 780 for interfacing with a variety of user interface components 785 can be provided for interfacing with chipset 760. Such user interface components 785 can include a keyboard, a microphone, touch detection and processing circuitry, a pointing device, such as a mouse, and so on. In general, inputs to system 750 can come from any of a variety of sources, machine generated and/or human generated.

Chipset 760 can also interface with one or more communication interfaces 790 that can have different physical interfaces. Such communication interfaces can include interfaces for wired and wireless local area networks, for broadband wireless networks, as well as personal area networks. Some applications of the methods for generating, displaying, and using the GUI disclosed herein can include receiving ordered datasets over the physical interface or be generated by the machine itself by processor 755 analyzing data stored in storage 770 or 775. Further, the machine can receive inputs from a user via user interface components 785 and execute appropriate functions, such as browsing functions by interpreting these inputs using processor 755.

It can be appreciated that example systems 700 and 750 can have more than one processor 710 or be part of a group or cluster of computing devices networked together to provide greater processing capability.

For clarity of explanation, in some instances the present technology may be presented as including individual functional blocks including functional blocks comprising devices, device components, steps or routines in a method embodied in software, or combinations of hardware and software.

In some embodiments the computer-readable storage devices, mediums, and memories can include a cable or wireless signal containing a bit stream and the like. However, when mentioned, non-transitory computer-readable storage media expressly exclude media such as energy, carrier signals, electromagnetic waves, and signals per se.

Methods according to the above-described examples can be implemented using computer-executable instructions that are stored or otherwise available from computer readable media. Such instructions can comprise, for example, instructions and data which cause or otherwise configure a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device to perform a certain function or group of functions. Portions of computer resources used can be accessible over a network. The computer executable instructions may be, for example, binaries, intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, firmware, or source code. Examples of computer-readable media that may be used to store instructions, information used, and/or information created during methods according to described examples include magnetic or optical disks, flash memory, USB devices provided with non-volatile memory, networked storage devices, and so on.

Devices implementing methods according to these disclosures can comprise hardware, firmware and/or software, and can take any of a variety of form factors. Typical examples of such form factors include laptops, smart phones, small form factor personal computers, personal digital assistants, rackmount devices, standalone devices, and so on. Functionality described herein also can be embodied in peripherals or add-in cards. Such functionality can also be implemented on a circuit board among different chips or different processes executing in a single device, by way of further example.

The instructions, media for conveying such instructions, computing resources for executing them, and other structures for supporting such computing resources are means for providing the functions described in these disclosures.

Although a variety of examples and other information was used to explain aspects within the scope of the appended claims, no limitation of the claims should be implied based on particular features or arrangements in such examples, as one of ordinary skill would be able to use these examples to derive a wide variety of implementations. Further and although some subject matter may have been described in language specific to examples of structural features and/or method steps, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to these described features or acts. For example, such functionality can be distributed differently or performed in components other than those identified herein. Rather, the described features and steps are disclosed as examples of components of systems and methods within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, claim language reciting “at least one of” a set indicates that one member of the set or multiple members of the set satisfy the claim.

It should be understood that features or configurations herein with reference to one embodiment or example can be implemented in, or combined with, other embodiments or examples herein. That is, terms such as “embodiment”, “variation”, “aspect”, “example”, “configuration”, “implementation”, “case”, and any other terms which may connote an embodiment, as used herein to describe specific features or configurations, are not intended to limit any of the associated features or configurations to a specific or separate embodiment or embodiments, and should not be interpreted to suggest that such features or configurations cannot be combined with features or configurations described with reference to other embodiments, variations, aspects, examples, configurations, implementations, cases, and so forth. In other words, features described herein with reference to a specific example (e.g., embodiment, variation, aspect, configuration, implementation, case, etc.) can be combined with features described with reference to another example. Precisely, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the various embodiments or examples described herein, and their associated features, can be combined with each other.

A phrase such as an “aspect” does not imply that such aspect is essential to the subject technology or that such aspect applies to all configurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to an aspect may apply to all configurations, or one or more configurations. A phrase such as an aspect may refer to one or more aspects and vice versa. A phrase such as a “configuration” does not imply that such configuration is essential to the subject technology or that such configuration applies to all configurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to a configuration may apply to all configurations, or one or more configurations. A phrase such as a configuration may refer to one or more configurations and vice versa. The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example or illustration.” Any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs.

Moreover, claim language reciting “at least one of” a set indicates that one member of the set or multiple members of the set satisfy the claim. For example, claim language reciting “at least one of A, B, and C” or “at least one of A, B, or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a system and via a first collector device, a first data report generated by a capturing agent deployed on a host system in a network, the first data report comprising traffic data captured at the host system by the capturing agent; receiving, by the system and via a second collector device, a second data report generated by the capturing agent deployed on the host system, the second data report comprising traffic data captured at the host system by the capturing agent; determining, by the system, that the first data report and the second data report are both associated with the capturing agent; in response to determining that the first and second data reports are both associated with the capturing agent, identifying, by the system, duplicate data contained in the first data report and the second data report; and deduplicating, by the system, the first and second data reports to yield a deduplicated data report.
 2. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising sending the deduplicated data report to at least one device in the network, the first and second data reports comprising: a respective timestamp; a respective agent identifier which uniquely identifies the capturing agent from other capturing agents in the network; and a flow identifier which identifies one or more traffic flows captured by the capturing agent.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying duplicate data comprises determining that the second data report is a copy of the first data report, and wherein deduplicating the first and second data reports comprises discarding a first one of the first and second data reports and keeping a second one of the first and second data reports.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the capturing agent is configured to capture a set of data comprising at least one of usage data and traffic data at the host, and report the set of data to both the first and second collector devices.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying duplicate data comprises determining that at least a first portion of content of the first data report is a duplicate of a second portion of content of the second data report, wherein the duplicate comprises same traffic data captured during a same period of time by the capturing agent, and wherein deduplicating the first and second data reports comprises: selecting a first one of the first data report or the second data report to yield a selected data report; and filtering a respective one of the first portion of content or the second portion of content from the selected data report to yield the deduplicated data report.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the capturing agent resides in one of a hypervisor on the host or a virtual machine on the hypervisor, the traffic data being associated with the one of the hypervisor or the virtual machine.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying duplicate data comprises determining that at least a first portion of content of the first data report is a duplicate of a second portion of content of the second data report, wherein the duplicate comprises same traffic data captured during a same period of time by the capturing agent, and wherein deduplicating the first and second data reports comprises: merging contents of the first data report and the second data report to yield a merged data report; and filtering one of the first portion of content or the second portion of content from the merged data report to yield the deduplicated data report.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the capturing agent comprises at least one of a process, a kernel module, or a software driver.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first collector device and the second collector device are both assigned to a flow associated with the traffic data based on a hash value generated by applying a hash function to a flow identifier associated with the flow.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the traffic data comprises one or more timestamps, one or more traffic identifiers, and an agent identifier that uniquely identifies the capturing agent in the network, the method further comprising: determining that the first data report is associated with the first period of time based on a first respective timestamp; determining that the second data report is associated with the second period of time based on a second respective timestamp; and determining, based on the agent identifier associated with the capturing agent, that the first and second data reports were both generated by the capturing agent.
 11. A system comprising: one or more processors; and one or more computer-readable storage devices having stored therein instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: receiving, from a first collector device, a first data report generated by a capturing agent deployed on a host system in a network, the first data report comprising traffic data captured at the host system by the capturing agent during a period of time; receiving, from a second collector device, a second data report generated by the capturing agent deployed on the host system, the second data report comprising traffic data captured at the host system by the capturing agent during the period of time; determining that the first data report and the second data report are both associated with the capturing agent; in response to determining that the first and second data reports are both associated with the capturing agent, identifying duplicate data contained in the first data report and the second data report; and deduplicating the first and second data reports to yield a deduplicated data report.
 12. The system of claim 11, the one or more computer-readable storage devices storing additional instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising sending the deduplicated data report to at least one device in the network, the first and second data reports comprising: a respective timestamp associated with the period of time; a respective agent identifier which uniquely identifies the capturing agent from other capturing agents in the network; and a flow identifier which identifies one or more traffic flows captured by the capturing agent.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein identifying duplicate data comprises determining that the second data report is a copy of the first data report, and wherein deduplicating the first and second data reports comprises discarding a first one of the first and second data reports and keeping a second one of the first and second data reports.
 14. The system of claim 11, wherein the host comprises a server, and wherein the capturing agent resides in a hypervisor on the server.
 15. The system of claim 11, wherein identifying duplicate data comprises determining that at least a first portion of content of the first data report is a duplicate of a second portion of content of the second data report, wherein the duplicate comprises same traffic data captured during a same period of time by the capturing agent, and wherein deduplicating the first and second data reports comprises: selecting a first one of the first data report or the second data report to yield a selected data report; and filtering a respective one of the first portion of content or the second portion of content from the selected data report to yield the deduplicated data report.
 16. A computer-readable storage device storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising: receiving, by a system from a first collector device, a first data report generated by a capturing agent deployed on a host system in a network, the first data report comprising traffic data captured at the host system by the capturing agent during a period of time; receiving, by the system from a second collector device, a second data report generated by the capturing agent deployed on the host system, the second data report comprising traffic data captured at the host system by the capturing agent during the period of time; determining, by the system, that the first data report and the second data report are both associated with the capturing agent; in response to determining that the first and second data reports are both associated with the capturing agent, identifying, by the system, duplicate data contained in the first data report and the second data report; and deduplicating, by the system, the first and second data reports to yield a deduplicated data report.
 17. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16, storing additional instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations further comprising sending the deduplicated data report to at least one device in the network, the first and second data reports comprising: a respective timestamp associated with the period of time; a respective agent identifier which uniquely identifies the capturing agent from other capturing agents in the network; and a flow identifier which identifies one or more traffic flows captured by the capturing agent.
 18. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein identifying duplicate data comprises determining that at least a first portion of content of the first data report is a duplicate of a second portion of content of the second data report, wherein the duplicate comprises same traffic data captured during a same period of time by the capturing agent, and wherein deduplicating the first and second data reports comprises: merging contents of the first data report and the second data report to yield a merged data report; and filtering one of the first portion of content or the second portion of content from the merged data report to yield the deduplicated data report.
 19. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein identifying duplicate data comprises determining that at least a first portion of content of the first data report is a duplicate of a second portion of content of the second data report, wherein the duplicate comprises same traffic data captured during a same period of time by the capturing agent, and wherein deduplicating the first and second data reports comprises: selecting a first one of the first data report or the second data report to yield a selected data report; and filtering a respective one of the first portion of content or the second portion of content from the selected data report to yield the deduplicated data report.
 20. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein the first collector device and the second collector device are both assigned to a flow associated with the traffic data based on a result of applying a hash function to a flow identifier associated with the flow. 